Field of the Disclosure
The technology of the disclosure is related to use of radio frequency (RF) communications, including communications involving RF identification (RFID) tags or transponders.
Technical Background
It is well known to employ radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) transponders to identify articles of manufacture. RFID transponders are often referred to as “RFID tags.” RFID tags are comprised of an antenna coupled to an integrated circuit (IC). An identification number or other characteristic is stored in the IC or memory coupled to the IC. The identification number can be provided to another system, such as an RFID reader, to provide identification information for a variety of purposes. For example, if the RFID tag is an active device, the RFID tag includes a transmitter that can transmit the identification. If the RFID tag is a passive or semi-passive device, the RFID tag does not include a transmitter. The passive or semi-passive RFID tag includes a receiver that receives a wireless RF signal from a transmitter over an antenna, also known as an interrogation signal. The passive or semi-passive RFID tag wakes up in response to receipt of the interrogation signal and can respond, including providing identification information, via backscatter modulation communications, as an example.
One application of RFID tags is in communication systems to provide information regarding communication components, such as connectors and adapters as examples. In this regard, the communication components are RFID-equipped. An RFID reader can be provided as part of an RFID system to receive stored information about the RFID-equipped communication components. The RFID reader can interrogate RFID tags disposed in communication components in the range of the RFID reader to automatically discover communication components present in the RFID system. The RFID reader may provide the identification information regarding the communication components to a host computer system. Thus, it is possible to determine when two particular communication components are connected or joined together and when the connection is separated. However, in order for the RFID reader to discover the communications components present in the RFID system and determine when two particular communication components are connected or separated, a significant number of unique queries must be performed by the RFID reader and each of these queries may involve many commands and responses between the RFID reader and the set of RFID tags.
Network equipment may be provided that is configured to support interconnections of a number of RFID-equipped communication components. A technician provides the desired interconnections to establish communications. If a technician accidentally disconnects an incorrect communication component that is RFID-equipped, the host computer system can flag an error or provide another indicator to inform the technician, but not before a communication connection is broken. The unintended disconnection may result in interruption in communication services and loss of data. Also, connecting the incorrect communication components together can also cause similar issues. An unintended connection between communication components could result in information being exchanged improperly from one party to another when such exchange is not proper or authorized.
The same results can occur for other applications in addition to communications. For example, if an RFID-equipped power connector is incorrectly disconnected, a host computer system may be able to detect the disconnection, but not before power is interrupted. If the power connector is allowing power to be supplied to a critical device, such as a medical device for example, the interruption of power could be life threatening. Another example might be a coupling in a gas or fluid delivery system where it is critical to know that a connection is made and made properly. This is true in medical applications where an incorrect connection can cause serious injury or death, in industrial applications that use various process gases or high pressure hydraulic connections, and in many other applications where two parts that are designed to be mated need to be tracked to ensure that a proper connection exists and/or to provide an indication or alarm when said connection has been broken.